Archaeoacoustics Reveals Intentional Sound Use in Ancient Sites

Key Quotes

"archaeologists usually don't deal with sound i came to it through an interest in the materials i had been studied color in the landscape and the location of sites i had also been looking at other issues that usually archaeologists don't pay much attention to like things that are disregarded archaeologists usually look at typologies the form of objects and chronology and i wanted to go a bit beyond that sort of more the human aspect of archaeology and the emotional aspect of archaeology"

Dr. Margarita Diaz Andreu explains that traditional archaeology often focuses on tangible artifacts and timelines, overlooking the human and emotional dimensions of the past. She describes her own shift in focus from color in the landscape to the role of sound, indicating a broader trend towards exploring less conventional aspects of ancient human experience.

"i kind of realized that sound and music and acoustics could offer more to help fill in a little piece of the jigsaw for archaeologists that it could be tested that it doesn't that there's that science could be applied to these questions that sounds like you realized"

Dr. Rupert Till articulates how acoustics and music can provide valuable, testable insights that complement traditional archaeological methods. He suggests that by applying scientific principles to sound, archaeologists can gain a more complete understanding of past environments and human activities.

"so the way is testing rock art sites and testing places without rock art so what we want to see is a pattern and looking at different acoustic properties so um throughout the years we started working with sound engineers so um you can look at reverberation you can um also check whether there are echoes or not um and very important also speech clarity and music clarity and by comparing rock art sites with sites without rock art places where that have been special for people so the question was is it is this related to special acoustics of some sort and the answer has been varied"

Dr. Diaz Andreu details the methodology of archaeoacoustics, which involves comparing the acoustic properties of significant sites, like those with rock art, to non-significant locations. She notes that researchers use sound engineers to measure factors such as reverberation, echoes, and clarity, and that the findings indicate varied acoustic characteristics across different ancient sites.

"the oldest musical instrument that we're certain about that's been discovered by archaeologists is in caves in spain and france so there's a very ancient one in hohle fels cave in germany which is 43 000 years old 43 000 years old yeah so around that time there's a kind of explosion of creative activity people in europe bearing people for the first time and art objects being found little carvings and paintings appearing on walls and also flutes musical instruments"

Dr. Rupert Till highlights the discovery of ancient musical instruments, specifically flutes made from vulture bones dating back 43,000 years, found in caves in Germany, Spain, and France. He connects these instruments to a broader period of increased creative activity in Europe, marked by the emergence of art objects and burial practices.

"it's just a completely different experience when you when you hear the reverberation the sound seems to fly away more like a bird were you there for that recording did you make that recording i made the recording and we captured and much the way margareta describes it we captured the acoustic we used this as swept sine wave which stimulates all the frequencies in the cave and we captured the acoustic as well but yeah i was there with five microphones capturing it in 5 1 surround so that i could then you know let people hear this amazing sound because most people don't get to hear it i think it's it's like reaching back in time"

Dr. Rupert Till describes the profound difference in experiencing the vulture bone flute played within the cave where it was discovered, noting how the reverberation makes the sound "fly away more like a bird." He explains his process of meticulously recording this sound using multiple microphones to allow others to experience this unique connection to the past.

"i guess that in the same way that igor was using sort of lower pitches to create this type of reverberation this this is a sound that makes us feel calm and make us feel sort of in connection with the other world yeah i mean as i understand it this space was full of of bones and they weren't all kept together in skeletons laid out neatly they were kind of piled up so people would have gone there to place their dead relatives there and they may have been sort of mourning but i think more they'd have gone to visit generations and generations and generations of ancestors who were there to speak to them to ask for their wisdoms to consult them"

Dr. Margarita Diaz Andreu speculates on the purpose of sound within a rock-cut tomb in Malta, suggesting that the reverberant acoustics, particularly when activated by lower pitches, could induce feelings of calm and connection to the spiritual realm. She posits that people visited these tombs not just for mourning, but to commune with and seek wisdom from their ancestors.